HOUSE BILL REPORT

SSB 6603

As Amended by the House

BYSenate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (originally sponsored by Senators Barr and Stratton)

Revising air quality opacity limitations.

House Committe on Environmental Affairs

Majority Report:  Do pass with amendment.  (13)

      Signed by Representatives Rust, Chair; Valle, Vice Chair; Brekke, Ferguson, Jesernig, Lux, May, Pruitt, Schoon, D. Sommers, Sprenkle, Unsoeld and Walker.

House Staff:Susan Gulick (786-7116)

AS PASSED HOUSE MARCH 6, 1988

BACKGROUND:

The Department of Ecology is responsible for establishing air quality standards for the state.  The state standards must be at least as stringent as federal standards.  Local air pollution control authorities may also set standards and, in some cases, local standards are more stringent than the state standards.

Air quality standards adopted and enforced by the department include particulate emission standards and opacity limitations. Particulate standards pertain to the number and size of particles emitted.  Opacity is a measure of the visibility of emissions.  For example, if a smoke emission has an opacity level of 20 percent, it means that an object is 20 percent obscured when viewed through the smoke.  The opacity standards set by Ecology vary by type of industry and sometimes vary within the same industry for different emission stacks.  In some cases, industries can be in violation of opacity limits without violating particulate standards.  In addition, particulate standards can be violated without a violation of opacity limitations.

SUMMARY:

Industries or the air pollution control authority may choose to have new opacity limits established that accurately correlate to violations of particulate standards. Industries must submit the data to quantify the new opacity standard.  The air pollution control authority may charge a fee to recover the costs of reviewing the alternate opacity standard.

Fiscal Note:      Available.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Michael Landon, Department of Ecology; Chris Carlson, Kaiser Aluminum.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    There is a need to correlate opacity standards with particulate emissions.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.